VeryApe77

I was under the impression, having just read 'Soul of a Chef' (which, of course, could contain some bias in it) that Keller didn't exactly "fail" with Rakel, but was just a victim of the economy at the time. Also, the idea of the FL being good "but not because of Keller" seem a bit odd. Who else would it be down to? Maybe there could be a argument made that it is the network of local purveyors who help make the FL what it is? Maybe Keller just works better outside of the city? I dunno.

9:30 for the Tour, huh. You might want to take a disco nap before going, you could be in for a long night. I am sure the kitchen will do their best to make you comfortable, and the following day they would have disclaimer on start times for the Tour menu when making reservations. ← Not to worry, my reservation is for 8 - this was purely a hypothetical!

That sounds about right. My TDF at Trio took about that. I think with menus of this nature, that it is maybe a case of different people taking radically different amounts to time to get through their meal. For example, when I had the grand tasting menu at Moto, it took about 4 hours (maybe less). Someone I know had the exact same menu and was there for 8 hours ! So I don't think it's a cause for alarm.

I am eating there two weeks today and I cannot wait! I told myself that I would not read any reports before my meal, but I'm only human... I'm interested in the timing too though...if one had a reservation for, say, 9:30 and ordered the tour, would they (and the kitchen and serving staff) be there until 4:30? Or did you just have very leisurely meal, Yellow Truffle?

I'm pretty sure the awards are limited to the United States...which might explain this particualr bias.

Nice idea, but that episode of Good Eats predates ICA by a couple of years.

Higher prices, worse food. Been there a couple of times (good friend lives down the road) and never had anything that even comes close to the original Hema's. And this is coming from someone that thinks the original Hema's is way overrated! PS. Just saw you needed this info yesterday....sorry!

Hey Poppy, Nice to see you here. I just finished Prime and I really, really enjoyed it. I read Liquor last year during my first trip to N.O which was really interesting. I was by myself, so I'd find myself reading the book in many of the restuarants mentioned in the book, so my memories of the book and my memories of the trip are pretty much intertwined. Anyway, can't wait for the next one. I'd highly recommend these books to anyone interested.

A genuine question - not being antagonistic here - I'm fairly young and am still learning about culinary history. But when I was coming up in England, Trotter was one of the few American chefs that I was aware of. If he is only of importance in the context of Chicago (a city I had very little awareness of), how has he reached such a level of fame? Is it purely a PR thing?

What was so bad about this article? I've certainly read much, much worse.

Agreed. Say what you will about Trotter but he normally gives the impression as being a very calm (if somewhat intense), professional figure. Never struck me as being someone who would start ranting and raving to the press. I wonder if he's having some kind of problems? If he is, all of the hullabaloo is unlikely to help much... And yes, the idea of him opening a can of whup-ass is pretty funny. He always kind of reminded me of Milhaus from the Simpsons - a great chef, but not the most physically imposing figure. Edit: I'm not saying that Milhaus is a great chef, although you never know...

Yep. The whole article smacked of "oh shit, my deadline is in 20 minutes, better come up with something, maybe that third martini was a mistake after all etc". A ridiculous piece, but I'm not familiar with his other stuff, so...

Great quote from the Tribune story - "You never make it personal, especially when it comes to sausage." Words to live by...

Why not? I was under the impression that both Chefs were interviewed for the article. If this is not the case, we will certainly find out soon...but I don't understand exactly why you would think that this is not the case.

Who is comping it? ←

Maybe they should bring Minister Farrakhan in to settle the beef (no pun intended) before it gets physical. Charlie = Tupac Rick = Biggie.

I think it's only in the UK right now. We might get it in a couple of years (or, like Boiling Point, 7 years)

Am pretty sure that the JO project was in the pipeline before the Supersize Me movie came out - in fact, I remember reading interviews with JO a couple of years ago when he was talking about the school dinner thing. I could, of course, be wrong.

I used to work for Flashback! They are (or at least were) great people to work with - I only left to move to the states. Hope this works out for you Andy!

When the Orange on Clark first opened, it was very, very good - one of the best breakfast places I've been to. The menu used to change almost weekly and most of the stuff on there was great (esp. the puff pastry). Been back less and less recently - I still like it, but (apart from the pancake flight) the menu seems to be the same every time, and has been for the last couple of years. Takes the fun out of it a bit. Plus the food is just a bit more boring. Had no idea that Dale Levitski was the chef when I first started going though - that explains a lot.

Good work, this sounds unbelievably amazing! Too bad I'm not going to be in NY anytime in the foreseeable future

Coleman's Mustard HP Don't have an obvious 3rd. Hoisin would probably win out in the end though.

Did Ramsey really say that? I didn't catch it when I first saw the show. Then again, that was in 1998. I was distantly aware of the term growing up, but only from some American movies. Which is not to say that it is not used in England, just that I don't recall hearing it being used.

Is this being shown again? I was moving house

I agree with you completely. Don't get me wrong - I love the original Iron Chef, but some people (many of whom can be found on this board ) over-idealise it WAY too much. It was a fun show. Lets not go overboard. And, for what it's worth, I was watching an episode just last week where Morimoto was complaining about one of the items of kitchen equipment.